4-yr-old girl left in foster care with 'paedophile'

The four-year-old spent a fortnight with the man even after social workers learned of the suspicions about the man. The girl had been living with the foster carer for three months when police informed social services that he was suspected of accessing vile child abuse photos, a Family Proceedings Court was told.

On the same day, last May 14, the child informed her real father and a social worker that she had been “strangled” by another child at that home. But she was still returned to the foster carer. Her father, who was unaware of the indecent images allegation, called up police and an emergency social work team informed about what his daughter complained.

The girl, however, was not seen until the following day by her social worker Sherilyn Pritchard. Even then, she was not examined by a doctor and again sent back to the home.

It took social workers six days before deciding what to do and another week before removing the girl and another child. Magistrates, hearing the case last October, said Bristol City Council had failed to follow child protection procedures.

They also said social workers did not take the girl’s claims seriously and slammed them over no immediate action. Her father later said he was livid. “They said she wasn’t safe at home but they put her where someone had been downloading child abuse images.” The girl has been shifted to a new foster home.